Berenice Bejo will play the matriarch in the upcoming drama “The Childhood of the Leader,” Variety has learned.

Juliette Binoche was originally cast in the part, but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. The film, which focuses on the early years of a post-World War I ruler, is the directorial debut of actor Brady Corbet (“Simon Killer”) and co-stars Robert Pattinson and Tim Roth.

Bejo was nominated for a supporting actress Oscar for her breakout role in 2011’s “The Artist,” won the Cannes actress award for 2013’s “The Past” and reteamed with her husband-director, Michel Hazanavicius, in the 2014 war picture “The Search.”

Corbet co-wrote the script with Mona Fastvold. “The Childhood of a Leader” will begin shooting in November in Budapest.